Sea Salted Salmon on a bed of Zucchini "Noodles"

Simple food, simply prepared with minimal processing means healthier eating.  Most of the time.  At least that's what I tell myself.  At least the lack of migraines when I eat this way tells me I'm on the right track to living in a healthier way.

I broke down and got a mandolin with my stash of birthday cash.  Its a super sharp tool that slices uniformly any veggie that you want and adjusts to any depth you would want.  Add in the nifty julienne option and you can do perfectly uniforms trips in narrow or wide sizes.  Think noodle sized or french fry size with minimal effort.

I have to confess the zucchini as a noodle isn't an original idea.  I copped it from some TV show on where it was done as a the base for an appetizer.  I thought to myself then....hmmmm great way to use the old zucker in a new way and have fun with it.  Enter the mandolin that can slip slice and julienne perfectly long spaghetti like strands.  Being neutral in flavor you can zip it up as much as you'd like.  Added boner is swapping out fiber for carbs.  Total. Win.

The salmon is simply prepared.  Pepper and smoked sea salt then roasted.  Tastes lightly smoked as if done on a grill with out the fuss of charcoal.

Sea Salted Salmon on a bed of Zucchini "Noodles"

• 2, 8 oz salmon fillets
• fresh cracked black pepper
• Smoked Sea Salt
• 2 long medium sized zucchini
• 1 tomato
• 1 t garlic powder
• fresh cracked black pepper
• sea salt or kosher salt
• olive oil

Pat salmon fillet dry.  Prepare  baking sheet with a light spritz of cooking spray. Season with pepper and smoked sea salt.  Place on prepared baking sheet and oven roast at 350F for 20 minutes.

While salmon is roasting wash your zucchini and dry them.  Prepare mandolin to slice thin julienne strips of the veggie.  Run zucchini across the cutting blades in long straight strokes stopping when you get to the seed core.  Rotate to each side cutting to seed core.  Discard seed cores.  Dice tomato, add zucchini and toss with garlic powder.

Heat a pan coated with a couple of tablespoons olive oil until starting to shimmer. Add zucchini mixture.  Toss to coat with oil.  Stir fry turning with tongs gently several times until they are soft and spaghetti like, about 8-10 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To plate divide "noodles" between two plates.  Top with salmon fillet.  Enjoy with a nice bottle of sauvignon blanc.

"Noodles" of julienned zucchini with tomato and garlic powder resting

"Noodles" stir frying and softening

Orange Sriracha glazed salmon and Herbed Bulgar Wheat

This is stupid easy and fast.  Can you boil water?  If so the bulgar wheat is done.  Can you turn on a burner under a grill pan?  Bang...your done.

Seriouisly, some nights no one has time to fuzz and fiddle in the kitchen.  Tonight was one such night.  Busy baby sitting the grand meant little time in the kitchen.  Timing is everything so start the Herbed Bulgar wheat first, then move to the salmon.  This dinner is fast..on the table in 20 minutes.

Herbed Bulgar Wheat

• 1 c bulgar wheat
• 1 can chicken broth
• 2 T dried onion
• 1 T chopped cilantro
• 1 T chopped parsley

Bring chick broth and dried onion to a boil.  Remove from heat and add bulgar wheat and herbs. Stir.  Cover.  Let sit 15 minutes.  At end of the cooking time remove lid and fluff with a fork.

Orange Sriracha Glazed Salmon

• 2 salmon filets
• 4 T Orange Sriracha sauce
• salt 
• pepper

Heat a non stick grill pan over medium high heat.  Salt and pepper the salmon filets generously on both sides.  When grill pan is hot, spritz with non stick cooking spray and put salmon down.  Cook 4-5 minutes until the side is opaque about half way up the side of the salmon filet.  Flip over, reduce heat to medium.  Divide Orange Sriracha sauce and spread on the cooked side of the filets.  Cook 3-4 minutes longer until opaqueness meets in the middle.  Turn off heat and remove from pan, let rest 3 minutes and serve over Herbed Bulgar Wheat.

Dusting off my password...Lemon Herbed Salmon Steaks

Since I last posted here life has been upside down here at Casa Frazgo.  My Daughter married to the Marine and grandson moved back in as the SIL is away for a while, my Dad was ill and eventually left us.  Man has it been busy here.  A lot of windshield time between L.A. and the Twentynine Palms Marine base and Las Vegas for all of that.

I didn't stop cooking, just the blogging took a hiatus.  Did look seriously at fast and easy preps. That's especially important now that I have a 1 year old under foot again.  This recipe is stupid easy and even easier when you use the skinned salmon so you don't have to do it yourself.  Leave it on if you like crispy skin, its just one of those tastes I never acquired.

I used the smoked grey sea salt for that subtle smoke flavor.  You can use regular kosher salt if you don't have the smoked stuff.  But really, for what it costs and how far it goes its worth tracking down.

Lemon Herbed Salmon Steaks

• 3 6-8 oz salmon steaks
• smoked grey sea salt
• pepper
• 6 t butter
• dill weed
• 1 lemon thinly sliced.

Salt and pepper the sslmon to taste.  Sprinkle liberally the dill weed on all sides.  Line your baking pan with aluminium foil for easy clean up. Spritz the foil lightly with non-stick cooking spray.  Place salmon steaks on the foil.  Spread 2 teaspoons of butter on each piece of salmon.  Add lemon slices onto the salmon.

Place salmon in 350F oven on convect cycle for 20 minutes.  (If you don't have convect use 375F conventional temp for same time).  Serve with herbed or my ever popular Spanish Rice and Noodles.

Salmon en Croute...special stuff for special people

My neighbors are going through a major remodel and have been without a kitchen for nearly a month. We decided to treat them to a home cooked meal last night. Of course, as always I want to give my guests the best I can produce. A little wow factor is nice too.

Salmon en Croute..literally salmon in crust was the option I went for tonight. Its really simple, a little laborious but worth the results. Its actually pretty easy to do...wrap a par-cooked salmon portion in puff pastry much like one would wrap a Christmas gift using a little egg wash as glue to hold the seams together.

Presentation is everything and its the little things that elevate the wow factor of the final product. In this case not only did I glaze it with an egg wash, but I cut out little fish from the pastry scraps to make decorations for the top of the package to give a little visual interest as well as hint of what is inside.

When working with puff pastry dough one does need to keep it cool so you don't melt the butter separating the layers within the pastry. Working with one sheet at a time does help you keep from getting your dough to soft and ruining the layers. Simply put the sheet you don't need at the moment in the fridge to keep it cool while working with the other. Also, its very important that the dough be cool when put in the oven for maximum puff during baking so the resting period in the refrigerator is really important, but that's a good thing as it means you can have assembled in the afternoon before you even have to worry about your guests arriving. Do aheads are a good thing.

The puff pastry though loaded with butter can stick to a baking sheet. I use a silpat to prevent sticking and tearing of the salmon en Croute when removing it from the pan. If you don't have a silpat then do get yourself some parchment paper to put down on your baking sheet to prevent sticking. Nothing is worse than working hard to make a pretty looking dish only to have it ruined because of sticking. Easy fix.

Salmon en Croute

• 1 pkg Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry
• 4 4-6oz salmon fillets
• onion salt
• pepper
• whole grain mustard
• dill weed
• Sea salt
• 1 egg beaten

Trim salmon fillets into neat squared off edge pieces. Season both sides with onion salt and pepper. Add to microwave safe baking dish. Microwave on high for 4minutes. Let cool to room temp. Very important to cool to room temp as if its too warm it will melt the pastry and you will have a mess on your hands.

Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry. Cut in half. Take 1 salmon fillet. Sprinkle both sides with the dill weed to taste. On one side spread 1 t grainy mustard (I use grey poupon whole grain mustard) on one side of the salmon. Brush edges of puff pastry with egg wash. Place the fillet on a piece of puff pastry. Bring up one side and then the other, trimming off extra for making a surface decoration...like a fish maybe? Take the open ends of the puff pastry and fold as if gift wrapping on a package, pressing lightly to seal. Make decoration with scrap and attach with egg wash to top of bundle. Repeat with remaining dough portions and fillets.

Place bundles in fridge and let rest a minimum of 1 hour.

Place salmon packages on a silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Brush egg wash all over the bundles and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake 425F for 20-25 minutes until puffed and golden brown all over.

Honey Mustard Salmon over couscous

Salmon. A go to food source rich in omega 3's and something 4/5 in my house will eat for dinner without a snivel or grumble. I keep bags of the Costco frozen fillets in my freezer for those last minute dinners where the day got away from me and I needed to get something on the table fast.

Couscous is one of those stupid easy food stuffs that makes a perfect side with no effort. If you can bring water to a boil you can make couscous. I use chicken stock for a bit more flavor, but you can use water if you don't have a can of stock handy. Add some herbage or other green matter to the couscous before you put the lid on to let it steep and you are set with an easy side.

The salmon does take a little bit of prep, not much and a few minutes to marinade in the dry rub. Even then you have it ready in no time as the fillets don't need that much time in the marinade, say 10-15 minutes at most.

Honey Mustard Salmon

4 Salmon fillets

onion salt

pepper

2 t dill weed

4 T honey mustard

olive oil

butter

Pat salmon fillets dry. Add Onion salt and pepper to own taste preference. Use 1/4 teaspoon dill weed per salmon side. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinade for 10-15 minutes.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and butter. When butter sizzles add the salmon fillets. Cook on first side about 4-5 minutes. Turn over and spread 1 tablespoon honey mustard on each fillet. Cook another 4-5 minutes or until the salmon flakes easily.

Serve over bed of couscous or herbed rice.

Salmon Patties part II

I like to eat healthy when I can. Certainly I'm not fanatical about it so I work on the moderation principle a lot. A staple in our house is seafood. Costco has big bags of frozen Salmon (farm raised) and true wild caught Cod Filets. I think the latter should worry me because I'm not certain of the sustainability issues. But damn it all Jim (star trek reference people, Star Trek), the stuff tastes good so I splurge on occassions.

I'm a huge fan of crab cakes. Salmon cakes or salmon patties are made on the same principle and WAY cheaper. This I came up with a little experimentation. It isn't exactly low fat, but it does have a lot of the omega3 fatty acids from the salmon so there is at least some balance. Serve with a salad dressed with the same dressing on the Salmon Patties and its a done deal all tied nicely together.

Salmon Patties

• 1 1/2 lb salmon filets (about 4 thin costco frozen)
• 1 t Old Bay Seasoning
• Sea Salt to taste
• cracked black pepper to taste
• 3 green onions -finely sliced, separating the white and green tops.
• 1 celery stalk - finely diced
• 1 medium carrot - finely diced
• 1/3 c canned roasted pepper - coarse chopped
• 1 T chopped garlic
• 2 T butter
• 1/2 sea salt
• 1 C panko bread crumbs + additional for breading
• 1 t Old Bay Seasoning
• 1 t Colemans Dry Mustard
• 1 t dried dill weed
• 2 T mayo
• 1 egg
  
• Fresh lettuce greens and salad dressing (I use honey mustard)

Thaw and pat dry the salmon filets. Sprinkle salt, pepper and Old Bay over the filets. I micro roast them in an 8X8 pyrex pan tightly sealed with plastic wrap over them. The steam gently in their own juices and the carry over cooking finishes them off nicely. I use a 1500 Micro so you may need to alter the time a bit to match your power level. I cook full power 3 minutes, then cook 4 minutes at 30% power. Let stand 7 minutes covered tightly. As the dish cools the plastic wrap will draw tight around the salmon sealing in its juices.

Coarsely chop and flake the salmon filets and stick in fridge to cool them down.

Chop vegetables. In a small sautee pan add butter, white onion parts, Old Bay and salt. Cook until translucent. Add dry mustard, dill weed, celery and carrot, cook 5 minutes until the carrot starts to soften. Add chopped roasted peppers and garlic, cook only 1 minute so you don't burn the garlic. Remove from heat.

Bring salmon out of fridge, add veg the reserved green onion tops and toss lightly. Add 1 Cup panko crumbs and toss lightly. Do not stir hard or you will just get fine crumbled salmon instead of nice big identifiable chunks. Beat egg and mayo. Pour over the salmon and fold lightly. Let rest a couple of minutes.

Get a large non-stick baking sheet. Form the salmon mixture into 8 patties about the size of a large hamburger if using as a meal. Make smaller - 24 pieces if using as little cocktail appetizers.

Place the patties on the sheet. cover lightly with foil or plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes to up to 2 hours. This step is really important. If you do not chill and let them rest to tighten up they will just fall part when you cook them.

Preheat non-stick griddle over medium heat. Either spray with light cooking oil or brush on ghee (I use the latter for better browning). Put about 1 c panko into a bowl for breading your patties. Put a patty in the panko and tap lightly into the crumbs. Gently turn the patty over and repeat with the other side. Repeat for each patty. Place patty on griddle and cook about 2 minutes until golden brown on the bottom, flip the patty and cook the other side.

Serve hot like I did tonight with a drizzle of the same dressing I used on the salad greens. Perfect summer dinner that even my picky eaters will enjoy.

Lightly chop across the grain so you have large pieces of salmon that are lightly flaked

Sautee the vegies until translucent to release the natural sugars

Cook each side until lightly browned and heated through, serve hot.

Salmon Filet over Bulgar Wheat Pilaf

Anyone who knows me can tell you for years my motto was "if I can't do it in the M.O. it ain't gonna happen". M.O. is short for microwave oven. I got in the habit of using it when I was living in "The Valley" where it would be feaking 2oo bajillion degrees in the summer and my apartments either had no A/C or no A/C that would reach the kitchen. Regardless, it was to hot to consider traditional cooking so armed with a heavy duty JC Penney 1,200 watt unit, a couple of those new fangled corning "browning pans" and I was set to dine divine without heating up the entire apartment.

In time we got A/C and things got better. There are some things I still like done in the M.O. as it is just fast and fool proof. Tonights salmon was a classic done in the "Em-mo". Fish with sauces you don't want getting all gunked onto a pan in the oven is one example. Nicely heat then slow bake it to perfection minutes. So here we go, two recipes one in the M.O. and the other on the stove top.

Salmon Filet with Honey Mustard and Dill

• 2 6-8 oz salmon filet not more than 3/4" thick
• 1/2 t dill weed
• 4 T prepared whole grain honey mustard
• salt

Pat filet's dry with a paper towel. Lightly salt each side. Sprinkle dill over both sides of filet's. Spread 1 T mustard on one side of each filet. Put into 8" square glass pan mustard side down. Spread remainging mustard evenly over each filet. Tightly cover dish with saran wrap. Let sit to marinade for 15-30 minutes.

Put covered dish into the M.O. (I have a 1,200 watt unit, if yours is lower adjust your times accordingly to your power output). Microwave on high for 4 minutes. Turn dish 180 if not on a turntable. Microwave 4 minutes at 30% power. At end of cooking cycle leave film on and let stand for 2 minutes of carry over cooking. Serve over rice or pilaf, spooning some of the pan sauce over the filet. Do not remove plastic wrap until ready to serve as that will help steam the fish during the carry over time so it remains moist.

Tonight was the first time I used Bulgar Wheat. I have seen the Ina Garten use it a few times on her Food TV show and figured it would be a nice change from rice. I'm glad I tried it as it is quite tasty with a nice soft earthy taste with just a bit of an al dente bite. Tonights pilaf is my own invention so bear with me.

Bulgar Wheat Pilaf

• 1 C Bulgar Wheat
• 1 14 oz can low sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 2 medium zucchini sliced 3/4 inch thick.
• 1 C sliced cremini mushrooms
• 1/2 t onion powder
• 2 T olive oil
• 1/2 t montreal steak seasoning

In small sauce pan bring broth to simmer. Toast Bulgar wheat in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring often until just starting to brown approx 5 minutes. Remove from heat and slowly whisk in wheat a couple of tablespoons at a time. Cover. Remove from heat and let stand 15 minutes.

Heat sautee pan over medium heat and add olive oil. Toss zucchini with onion powder. Add to hot oil. Cook 2-3 minutes and then turn over browning other side 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms stirring often, cook until starting to brown. Add steak seasoning and cook another couple of minutes until mushrooms cooked through and edges starting to brown. Remove from heat. Fluff wheat with a fork and then fold into the sautee'd vegies. Use as a side dish or as base for seafood or chicken.

Note to do not add the Montreal Seasoning until the end. As it has so much salt in it it will draw out moisture from the vegies too fast and they will turn to mush before they brown.

There you go two simple dishes on the table in minutes with little fuss. My idea of cooking, especially on a hot day or I am pressed for time.

Seared Salmon, two ways, two nights

I'm a big fan of making enough of something so I can use it another time in something different. Life is frantic and eating out just isn't always the indicated option. I got the idea for this from a recent cooking magazine and a trip to Surfas where I found some affordable smoked paprika.
I opted for a sweet smoked paprika as I don't usually care for things to bitter on the entree. Just me on that decision. I am going to eventually try the bitter and hot versions and will drop a note on how I like them.

Seared Salmon Steaks

• 6 oz salmon steak
• 1/2 t steak seasoning salt blend (I use Lawry's Montreal)
• 1/2 t onion powder
• 1 t smoked paprika

Divide the seasoning for each side of the salmon steak. Heat nonstick pan over medium heat and add olive oil. Heat to shimmering. Add salmon and sear about 3-4 minutes, flip and cook another 3 -4 minutes until just cooked through.

I served the ones for the first night over steamed rice and green beans on the side. The next night with the extra small filets I warmed just a bit, sliced them and put them on a tossed salad of mixed greens with a light vinaigrette

Salmon Steak over Fried Mashed Potato

Some days I like to go fast and this is about as easy as it gets. I keep the Costco frozen Salmon steaks on hand and a variety of premade marinades or the stuff to do them from scratch.

For the salmon tonight I grabbed the trusty bottle of Lawry Mesquite Marinade with Lime. I put about 2 T on the bottom of an 8X8 pan. I put in 4 of the thawed salmon steaks into the pan, spread about 1T marinade over each filet and then covered the dish with plastic wrap for about 30 minutes.

When it came time to cook I was totally lazy and went for the oven roast method. I sprinkled with McCormick Grillmate Montreal Seasoning. Preheated the oven to 375, convection roast and put it in the oven for 20 minutes. (Thickest portion of a fillet should flake easy and be cooked through). Pulled pan from oven and let it rest and carryover cook about 5 minutes.

The hardest part of the meal was the potatoes and even that wasn't a challenge. I took small red potatoes and quarted them (skin on), about 4 cups worth. I put them in a microwave safe bowl and zapped them on high for about 6 minutes. Then I let them sit in bowl, plastic wrap still on tight and let them steam on their own for about 10 minutes.

When potatoes were done I removed the plastic wrap. I seasoned with sea salt, pepper and 1t onion powder and gave them a quick rough mash with the classic wire potato masher. Set aside and in a nonstick frypan with lid fry up 1 strip of good thick cut bacon. Fry bacon until crisp. Crumble the bacon into the potatoes, fold in and add the mixture to the fry pan and hot drippings. Lightly press potato into an 8 inch or so square shape in the pan. Cut up about 2T butter and put on top of potatoes. Fry for about 5 minutes over medium high heat. Flip, add 2T more butter if needed if the potatoes look dry. Cover and cook another 5 minutes.

For plating divide potatos into 4 square portions. Top each portion with a piece of salmon. Round off the plate with a salad. I used the Fresh & Easy Baby Rocket mix with the Kraft Light Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing.

There you go a good looking dinner with no effort that tastes better than the effort put into it.

Salmon "Cheriyaki"

Before you get too excited there is in fact salmon prepared two ways in that pan.

The first was tonight's meal. Salmon "cheriyaki" served with simple rice and green beans. The other is simple grilled with "Montreal steak seasoning" for use another night as "salmon cakes".

Anyway the "Cheriyaki" I got the idea from who knows where. I remember somewhere along the line having an asian grilled meat with a cherry barbecue sauce that was pretty tasty. After a little tasting I came up with my own version similar to what I was looking for and just as tasty.

It is a subtle, mellow style sauce that is tasty with a strong fish like Salmon, or even Chicken and Pork.

Cheriyaki Sauce and Marinade

1 c cherry jelly, not preserves*

1 c teriyaki sauce

1 T rice vinegar

1 t Chinese 5 spice

Heat Jelly about 1 minute in microwave. Add Teriyaki sauce, vinegar and Chinese 5 Spice, stir until smooth.

*If using preserves heat and pour through strainer to remove the fruit pieces.

As a marinade brush on and let it set 5- 10 minutes before grilling or baking in the oven. If using as a sauce brush on the last 5 minutes of cooking and allow it to thicken and brown.

Tonight I used it as a marinade and grilled it off on a grill pan. I was given the Calphalon One infused nonstick grill pan a few years ago. It is one of the few non-stick surfaces that allow you to get your pan screaming hot without fear of damaging the surface. I highly recommend it as it gives perfect grill marks and caramelization and still is an easy wet cloth to clean up when done.

That was some good eats...stay tuned for the next bit with the left over salmon steaks in the next day or so.